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Tag: warns

  • Mimiko warns workers on verification

    Mimiko warns workers on verification

    •Governor says those liable ‘ll face the law

    Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko has warned the state’s workers that anybody found  to be criminally liable in the on-going verification would “face the wrath of the law”.

    Mimiko spoke yesterday during an unscheduled inspection visit to Oyemekun and C.A.C Grammar Schools in Akure, the state capital, where the exercise was being conducted.

    The governor noted that the verification would afford the state government the opportunity to clean up its payroll and eradicate sharp practices, which, he said, are detrimental to the government and the people.

    Mimiko, who explained that there were shortcomings in the state electronic data capturing system, said that the on-going exercise would clean up the payroll system and make some savings for government.

    The governor, who said over 80 per cent of tax payers in the state were public servants, appealed to eligible  citizens to exercise their civic responsibilities by paying their taxes and other levies so that his administration could continue to provide social services to the people.

    He hailed teachers for the support given to government officials assigned for the exercise, which, according to him, has aided its  smooth process.

    Mimiko added that his administration has embarked on financial engineering, which, he said, has assisted the state government to continue to pay workers salaries and fulfill its other responsibilities.

    “I got to know that there are some cases of impersonation in some places. Some of them have been arrested and handed over to the police. There is no question about the fact that anybody that is found to  be criminally liable in this exercise will be made to face the wrath of the law.

    “The whole idea is to clean up our payroll. Yes, we have electronic data capture and we added biometric to the electronic data capturing system, but you know this electronic system might not  be perfect. This exercise will afford us the opportunity to clean up the data at the end of this exercise. Some, who had retired in 2013/2014 still have their names on the payroll,” Mimiko said.

     

  • NAFDAC warns against consumption of imported poultry products

    The Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, has alerted Nigerians to the dangers in consuming imported and smuggled poultry products and frozen meat.

    He gave the warning while addressing reporters at the end of his Certification Visit to Amo Byng Nigeria Ltd, producers of Amo Byng Feeds & Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Nig Ltd, in Awe town, Oyo State.

    He said the poultry products, especially chicken and turkey, cause  non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and anti-biotic resistance.

    The NAFDAC chief explained that the NCDs are non-infectious, adding: “But they are as deadly” as cancer, kidney disease and hypertension, among others.

    Orhii said patronising smuggled poultry products is a sabotage in addition to the health hazards to the citizens.

    He added that studies by his agency shown that most of the smuggled chickens and other poultry products contain deadly chemicals, such as heavy metals. He attributed this to improper packaging and transportation.

    Although imported foreign chicken, turkey and others have been banned by the Federal Government, some Nigerians still smuggle the products into the country.

    Managing Director, Amo Byng Nigeria Ltd, Dr Ayoola Oduntan, said the consumption of imported frozen poultry products could damage the human system, unlike the locally produced poultry ones.

    He lamented that despite that imported frozen products contained high levels of dehyde, which is injurious to human health, some Nigerians still consume the products.

    The Amo Byng boss confirmed the presence of high level metals and other substances, which are lethal to human body, adding that these anti-bodies can cause toxicity-related mutagenesis (mutation), cardiovascular diseases, skin disorders, neurotoxicity and nasal cancer.

    Besides, the health hazard, Dr Oduntan said the government was losing about N400 billion in revenue to the smuggling of poultry products yearly, alleging that smuggling of frozen chicken is a threat to the people and the economy.

    According to him, the demand for local frozen chicken is low.  Oduntan urged the government to float an enlightment campaign to alert Nigerians on the danger of consuming imported/smuggled frozen poultry products.

     

  • Chukwumerije’s burial: Officiating minister warns of national revolution

    Chukwumerije’s burial: Officiating minister warns of national revolution

    •Says political class is taking the people for granted
    •Abia Govt boycotts ceremony

    The Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Samuel Uche, has warned that there could be a revolution in the country because of the way politicians are conducting themselves.

    Uche said the revolution would not come from the army but from the youths in the country who are feeling disenchanted with the behaviour of the political class.

    Speaking at Ngodo Isuochi, Abia State while delivering his homily at the burial of Senator Uche Chukwumerije, Uche said that things are going wrong because of the way politicians look down on the people.

    Uche said that politicians who are supposed to work for the people are rather busy looking at them with disdain, stressing that it is not what God expects of them and urging them to repent.

    The Prelate, who titled his homily ‘Judgment’, said Senator Chukwumerije is not dead, as his container,

    which is his body, is still with the people while his soul has gone to God.

    He described life as something that has tenure after which there will be judgment, “just like the present government that is outgoing, while a new one will come in soon.”

    The Prelate said that politicians should be aware that there is judgment day for them as death is for all, and that if they fail to work for the people in the next four years, their judgment day will come.

    In his speech, the Senate President, who led other senators to the burial, described late Senator Chukwumereije as an honest man and a transparent and excellent parliamentarian.

    The Senate President David Mark said that the late senator was frank to a fault, noting that his frankness in most cases made his colleagues uncomfortable.

    “He was eloquent, courageous and it will be hard to find a replacement for him in the Senate,” he said.

    The Senate President added: “To me, he is not dead, as I find it hard to come to terms that he will no longer be seated at his seat at the red chamber of the National Assembly.”

    He said that the Senate had never had a full house since it resumed sitting after the general election. “But during the valedictory session for Senator Chukwumerije, it was a full house as all wanted to speak.”

    However, the government of Abia State was absent during the burial as there was no representation.

    In a telephone interview, the Special Adviser to Governor Theodore Orji on Political

    Matters, Amah Abraham Nnanna, said the family of the late senator did not carry the government along.

    Nnanna said that the state government was still amazed that it was not involved in the burial of the late senator.

    Those present included the Mark; his deputy, Ike

    Ekweremadu; Governors Willie Obiano and Rochas Okorocha and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

  • LMC warns 3SC, Enyimba, Sunshine

    LMC warns 3SC, Enyimba, Sunshine

    The League Management Company (LMC) on Friday, gave guidelines to Premier League clubs on players who were placed on provisional clearance with them.

    It directed clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) not to field players who have only provisional clearance against the club from which the provisional clearance was issued.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that provisional clearances were issued to some players whose transfer transaction had not been resolved by the two concerned clubs.

    Now, the LMC has directed that in fixtures involving both teams, such players cannot be fielded.

    LMC’s Chief Operating Officer, Salihu Abubakar, in a letter to the clubs, issued a notification to the three clubs whose players are affected in Match Day 8 fixtures on Sunday.

    The clubs are 3SC FC, Enyimba International and Rangers International.

    “For Shooting Stars (3SC), they are not to field Ajani Ibrahim who is yet to be fully cleared to leave Sunshine Stars FC, who are their opponents on Sunday in Akure.

    “Enyimba International are billed to play Giwa FC of Jos in Aba on Sunday, but Ifeanyi Anaemena, registered to play with Enyimba with a provisional clearance from the Jos side, is therefore not eligible to play in the tie.

    “Bobby Clement, Osadebamwen Okoro and Okagbue Orji Kalu will also not be with Rangers when they play Heartland FC of Owerri, as the three Heartland players have only received provisional clearance to join Rangers,’’ Abubakar said in a statement.

    In the letters addressed separately to the clubs, the LMC said the notices were pursuant to the directives on provisional clearance.

    The directives stipulate that no player on provisional clearance shall play against a club from which he is on provisional clearance until his transfer is fully resolved.

  • Ibeh warns Heartland over Papillo FC

    Ibeh warns Heartland over Papillo FC

    Heartland FC midfielder, John Ikechukwu Ibeh has challenged his team mates to step up their game to ensure that the Naze Millionaires deliver the Imo State FA Cup again this term on Sunday against Papillo FC at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

    The Owerri side cruised to the final on Thursday after they trounced Nek United 2-0 through the goals of Emeka Ogbugh and Bright Ejike in the 27th and 64th minutes, while Papillo FC also earned a place in Sunday’s final after an 8-7 shootout victory over Baton FC in the other semi final. Both semis took place at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

    Ahead of Sunday’s final, Ibeh, who was abroad in Greece with Aris Thessaloniki and other clubs, admitted to SportingLife that Papilo FC won’t be easy, just like the two other clubs they met earlier in the competition, but that Heartland’s experience would stand them out against the club sponsored by former African Footballer of the Year, Kanu Nwankwo.

    “I played the last two games against Campos FC and Nek United FC and we gave a good account of ourselves. We are going to face Papilo FC in the final but we shouldn’t take them for granted at all. I won’t be there because of personal issues, but I expect my team mates to carry on in my absence and do a good job of beating them.

    “We never had any easy route to the final and we are not expecting an easy one against Papilo, but our experience will assist our quest to beat them,” Ibeh told SportingLife.

  • APC warns against fake election results

    APC warns against fake election results

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned against any attempt to tamper with the results of Saturday’s elections.

    It said Nigerians have voted peacefully and massively and they know who they have voted for.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it has the authentic results from every polling unit where voting took place on Saturday, and will not accept anything contrary to those signed results.

    It decried the dangerous kite being flown by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through some of its paid media channels, seeking to appropriate unearned victories across the nation.

    ‘’We have always said we will accept the result of any free, fair and transparent elections.

    “We stand by that avowal. However, what we will not accept – and which we are sure Nigerians themselves will reject – is any move to rewrite the results and thwart the will of the people under any guise. We will not accept that.

    ‘’We have heard of the desperate moves to cancel the results in areas where the APC has beaten the PDP embarrassingly. Nigerians will definitely not accept that,’’ APC said.

    The party said it is aware of the ongoing efforts to force Electoral Officers and Presiding Officers in Imo State, some of whom are being picked up by the military as we write, to rewrite the results of the elections in the state.

    ‘’We have the results from every polling unit in Imo State and we know that we have won in over 80 per cent in the presidential election. So there must be no shenanigans,’’ it warned.

    APC also said the same attempts are being made in Sokoto, Enugu, Ekiti, Ondo, Lagos and other states, wondering why anyone will be seeking to reverse the results that are settled.

    ‘’In Nsukka Local Government Area, Independent National Electoral Commission  (INEC) officials, instead of collating results, handed over the exercise to PDP Nsukka zone to write.

    “They holed up inside ADADA HOUSE (a local government guest house) to write results and change figures, and were provided with security by the police. APC candidates and agents were chased away.

    “In collaboration with INEC, they refused to let the Card Readers function and no result sheets came to most polling booths.

    “In Lagos, they have yet to announce the result of Apapa Local Government, which has been ready since Saturday, apparently in a move to manipulate the outcome. Those who voted will not agree with any attempt to steal their votes,’’ the party warned.

  • Abia warns Kalu against unguarded statements

    Abia State government has warned former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu to stop making unguarded statements capable of setting the state ablaze.

    It asked him to apologise to the state, government and people within 72 hours or face legal action.

    Addressing reporters in Umuahia, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Anthony Agbazuere, said the ex-governor in an interview granted a national newspaper, said he would burn down the state.

    He quoted the former governor as saying in the interview that “our people will burn down the state, we are ready for them”,  and in another, “the governor cannot try it and if he tries it, it will be the end of his administration.”

    “In the interview, Kalu said if what happened in the 2011 general elections when he was quarantined by soldiers happened again, the people would burn down the state.

    “He also said ‘our people will burn down the state. We are ready for them. We are not going to take it from anybody. The governor cannot try it. If he tries it, it will be the end of his administration because I have left him for too long and this is the last opportunity I am giving him.

    “’I kept quiet because of President Goodluck Jonathan, because I don’t want crisis for him.’”

    The Information commissioner said the statement credited to Kalu meant that he had concluded plans to set the state ablaze, adding that such statement was not expected from a man who once ruled the state.

    He said the criminal laws of the country were clear and that such statement was treasonable.

    “It means he wants to cause war in the state. We, as a government, will not take it from him.”

    Agbazuere said when Kalu was the governor, he never wished anyone to pull down his government. Therefore, he should purge himself of his violent tendencies.

    He urged the ex-governor to apologise to the state and its people within 72 hours or face a legal action, saying: “I’m being advised to begin the assemblage of lawyers for a court process against him.”

    Agbazuere said the simplicity of Governor Theodore Orji should not be taken for granted by anybody.

  • Osun Speaker warns against subverting forthcoming elections

    The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, has warned against plot to subvert the forthcoming general elections.

    He said any attempt to remove the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, could derail the nation’s democracy.

    According to a statement by his media aide, Goke Butika, the body language of President Goodluck Jonathan is suggesting that he is moving toward removing Jega before the Presidential election.

    Salaam stressed that Nigeria should not be dragged into needless crisis over the position of INEC chairman, saying that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should spare Prof. Jega from its campaign of calumny.

    He condemned the way some politicians were waging media war against the leadership of the INEC ever since Jega has insisted on using the Permanent Voter’s card (PVC) and card reader to conduct the rescheduled polls.

    He said their comments were disgusting, ridiculous and uncalled for, and at best suggesting that there was plot to subvert the elections.

    He said: “We should all strive to consolidate this 16 years old democracy as a people, and no section of the people should see power as their exclusive right, but right of those who could obtain the mandate of the people through elections. Thus, it is needless to indulge more on the campaign of calumny.”

    The Speaker, therefore, implored Jonathan to discard the idea of removing Jega if the card was on the clandestine table, noting that “the consequence of changing the game when the game is almost at extra time would vitiate the credibility of not only the elections, but also democratic credentials of this country.

  • CAC pastor warns against thuggery, rigging

    CAC pastor warns against thuggery, rigging

    A cleric, Pastor (Dr) John Olushola Ojo, has called on politicians to keep away from thuggery and rigging in the coming general elections.

    Pastor Ojo, who is the chairman of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Odi-Ajaye Zonal Headquarters, Ogba, Lagos, said in an interview yesterday in Lagos that “thuggery and rigging are two major vices which are inimical to the nation’s electoral process.”

    “Both thuggery and rigging are twins. They go together. They give birth to other problems which militate against the rapid advancement of our country.

    “In the light of this, I warn our politicians to eschew thuggery and rigging. They are against divine laws,” he said.

    On the alleged N7billion bribe reportedly given to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to campaign against the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Ojo said: “I do not believe this story. But if it is true, it is a desecration of churches which are homes of hope, comfort, peace and holiness. It is bad. It is against the teachings of Jesus Christ as contained in the Holy Bible.

    “If it is true, those who got the money are inviting the wrath of God. I do not believe the story. People can say anything to destroy as a result of hatred. A true man of God will not involve himself in bribery. It is a sin to give a bribe and it is a sin to accept it.”

    On the postponement of elections, he said: “I know that many people are complaining about the shift of the polls. But I want people to be calm and believe that God is in control. We should pray that elections hold on the new dates.”

    On our youths, Pastor Ojo said: “Our youths deserve special treatment because they are the future leaders. Any government in power after these elections must attach much importance to the welfare of youths. They must be empowered. They need jobs; they need training. They should not be left to waste.”

    Pastor Ojo, who will soon launch a foundation to take care of widows and orphans, said immoralities in our society could be traced to the lack of honesty.

    “We have challenges here and there because of our failure to embrace honesty in all our dealings with our fellow human beings. And where there is no honesty, God will not be there because He hates dishonesty,” he said.

  • PPPRA warns marketers to sell fuel at new price

    PPPRA warns marketers to sell fuel at new price

    The Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Farouk A. Ahmed, yesterday warned oil marketers to comply with the new price regime for premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol announced by the Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    He said the agency and the Department of Petroleum Reources (DPR) would collaborate and ensure compliance with the new price regime so that Nigerians can fully gain from the donward price review.

    He also said the new ex-depot price of PMS is now N77.66 per litre.

    In a statement  in Abuja,  Ahmed recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan last Sunday directed the announcement of a downward review of the pump-price of PMS from N97 to N87per litre, with effect from January 19.

    According to him,  the announcement, which was made by Mrs. Allison-Madueke, is in consonance with Section 6, Clause 1, of the Nigerian Petroleum Act and was necessitated by the prevailing volatility in the international oil market and the drop in crude oil price.

    Ahmed said: “Consequent upon this announcement, the PPPRA, in exercise of its mandate of determining the pricing policy and setting benchmark prices of petroleum products, hereby further announces the new ex-depot price of PMS as N77.66 per litre.”

    “In view of the foregoing, oil marketers are hereby advised to adhere strictly to this new price regime, as the PPPRA, in conjunction with the DPR shall enforce compliance in order to ensure that consumers benefit fully from this review. In other words, any violation of the prevailing price regime, shall attract appropriate sanctions.

    “It is therefore our wish to advise Nigerians against any form of panic-buying, as there are enough products in all depots across the country.

    “We also wish to assure Nigerians that the PPPRA, in exercise of its mandate, is fully committed to ensuring adequate supply and distribution of petroleum product.”